A team of four local and national architecture firms will design Marquette University’s proposed $120 million athletic performance research center, which will be built in partnership with Aurora Health Care.
The university announced Tuesday that Sink Combs Dethlefs, a Denver-based architecture firm that has done work on more than 40 NCAA Division I campuses, will be the lead team.
Sink Combs Dethlef designed Ohio State University’s Schottenstein Center and St. Louis University’s Chaifetz Arena. The firm was also involved with the renovation of the University of Michigan’s Crisler Arena.
Milwaukee architecture firm HGA, which has experience in health care, urban and exterior design, has also been chosen for the design team along with Boston-based Ellenzweig, and Peter Park LLC, led by the former planning director of both Milwaukee and Denver.
“The team led by Sink Combs truly understood our vision for the (athletic performance research center) and brings the right expertise, talent and creative energy to what will be a signature project for Marquette, Aurora and Milwaukee,” said Lora Strigens, Marquette’s vice president for planning and strategy.
Marquette first announced plans to build the proposed facility in January 2015. In January of this year, Aurora announced it would contribute $40 million toward the project.
Plans call for a 250,000- to 300,000-square-foot facility to be built on a 12-acre site bordered by 6th Street, 10th Street, West Michigan Street and the Marquette Interchange, extending the MU campus to the east, in downtown Milwaukee. The site is also not far from Aurora Sinai Medical Center.
Researchers from Aurora and Marquette are hoping the facility will eventually become an international destination for athletic performance research.
In January, Marquette University President Michael Lovell estimated $60 million had been secured for the project.
Groundbreaking is planned for 2017, with the goal of opening the facility near the time the Milwaukee Bucks open their arena in downtown Milwaukee.
The Milwaukee Bucks, who unveiled plans last week to partner with Froedert & The Medical College Wisconsin on an athletic performance research center to be located inside the Bucks’ new training facility, have also committed to partnering with Marquette and Aurora on the planned facility.
Bucks President Peter Feigin told BizTimes on Friday that the Bucks had pledged money toward the project, but he would not reveal the dollar amount.
“We haven’t disclosed what we’ve pledged, but we’re deeply engaged on a capital basis, human capital, and on the research side (as well),” Feigin said.
